Too tired to post yesterday – fell into bed happy and exhausted after a day spent cleaning, unpacking and stowing things away. Do I remember which locker everything’s in? No, of course I don’t! It’s amazing just how big a 40 foot yacht starts to feel as soon as you’ve been aboard a few hours.
The last few months we’ve been more sedentary than usual, as I finished work and we were on the computers a lot emailing about arrangements for the boat, insurance, travel (boat, house, yachtsman’s travel insurnace, travel arrangements and budgeting. Our regular walks up the lane went by the wayside and now our muscles are feeling the difference. It feels good and satisfying. Mike and Mary stopped work some years ago and are very active, so, despite us being a few years younger than them, they’re having to adapt so that we can keep up! Already, moving about the boat is getting easier – knowing what is secure to hang on to as you move about. As Mike reminded us, it’s easy to be complacent on the hard and to forget the danger of falling ‘overboard’ onto the stony ground below.
Getting on and off means going up and down the ladder, carrying shopping, tools, whatever. Boat toilets flush by pumping in sea water – not possible out of the water. So generally we use the toilets and showers dotted around the boatyard. At night it’s possible to use the boat toilet (emptying into the holding tank) by using water from the shower head to flush. With being on the hard for 10 days while we get her ready, it’s important not to fill and overflow the holding tank, hence minimising its use.
The decks are cleaned of winter sahara dust, the sprayhood is on, so we have some welcome shade in the cockpit. There will be more when we put the bimini up, but for now, it’s easier to move around and work without it.
Today we hoisted the mainsail and the genoa (the foresail). When I sailed with Father and Sylvia as a child, in order to reduce the size of the foresail as the wind strengthened, you had to take one sail down and hoist a smaller one. Sails are heavy to manoeuvre! Nowadays we are pampered, with furling sails that you hoist at the start of the season and roll in or out to change the size depending on the wind. But hoisting them properly is a bit more fiddly and getting it right to start with is important. The system is a little less simple, which means there’s more to go wrong. Convenience always comes at a price!
Mike and Mary are going through the many lockers on the boat. taking things they want to keep, explaining to us the boat related things they’re leaving, and giving us the option on items they don’t want. Again, we’re so lucky. We have bedding for both cabins, towels, galley equipment, storecupboard essentials and even some gin😊 We follow behind, stowing our things in the vacated spaces. It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t know boats, just how good a workout this is. Lockers are either under seats, so you have to lift and hold up the cushions and burrow underneath, or behind seats, which often involves leaning and stretching across seating or other things. It soon becomes second nature, but our muscles aren’t yet accustomed.
We’re getting to know the boat as we do everything, soaking up as much information as we can. Mike’s preparing us a ‘How To’ manual, including a checklist of how we do all this in reverse when we have to winterise her in October. As we ask questions about this, it’s a pleasant surprise when we realise that before then there will (hopefully!) be some good sails, pleasant anchorages and relaxation. But working on a boat is fun – keeping a boat clean and tidy is much more satisfying than doing the same to a house – more like playing house as a child!
Another bit of looking ahead when we take all our new boat papers to the office to book a place on the hard for next winter. Registration certificate, insureance certificate with official Greek translation (the ‘blue form’) passports, etc etc. We also have our International Certificates of Competence ready for port police officials, the ships radio licence, our VHF radio operators licences and the DEKPA, the Greek cruising permit. Regulations for this are in a state of flux and we’re keenly following the exchange of experiences on the Cruising Association forums. Some yachts on smaller Greek islands have fallen foul of officials implementing the (not always precise) rules in a very rigid fashion and have been subject to a 500 euro fine. Fortunately, this area, with a lot of foreign cruisers, generally allows a little more leeway in terms of renewals.
So, we are booked to lift out of the water again at 12 o’clock on 16 October and have a place on the hard until at least 16 April 2019, which can then be extended. Space gets booked up early. This is one of the biggest boatyards in Europe.
John’s reminding me that it’s now 11.40 and we need some sleep before tomorrow! He’s right, so I shall sign off, finish my ouzo and go to bed in our very luxurious “Owner’s cabin.” We’re settling in and she’s beginning to feel like home.